Government

Keystone Fire Takes Hold in Snowy Range near Rob Roy Reservoir

(LARAMIE, Wyo.) July 3, 2017 – U.S. Forest Service and Albany County fire personnel responded to a wildfire this afternoon in the Snowy Range, Medicine Bow National Forest, which quickly became established and forced evacuations from multiple locations.

As of Monday, 9 p.m. the Keystone Fire was roughly estimated at 300 acres and there is no containment.

The cause of the fire is still unknown and its’ origin is near Horse Creek and Forest Road 511. That location is 1.5 miles southwest of Rob Roy Reservoir, 1.5 miles northwest of the community of Keystone, and 2 miles south of the Rambler community. However, at the end of Monday the fire had spotted north, south, and east, including across the Douglas Creek and Forest Road 543, and south of Keystone.

Albany County officials issued evacuation orders for communities of Keystone, Rambler, and Lake Creek, as well as Rob Roy Campground (USFS), and dispersed campers near Rob Roy, Cinnabar Park, and Bobbie Thomson. It is advised by the Forest Service that all dispersed campers in the Rob Roy and Keystone areas relocate to other areas of the Forest, as a broad area closure is expected to be put in place on Tuesday.

The overall strategy of fire personnel is for full suppression of the Keystone Fire, by engaging in locations with the highest probability of success. However, on Monday, efforts were focused on evacuation and public safety. Tuesday’s operations will focus on structure protection.

The fire is burning in lodgepole pine with a fir understory and in an area of the Forest that was heavily impacted by the mountain pine beetle epidemic.

Law enforcement, a helicopter, a hand crew, and multiple engines were among the initial responders to the fire. As the fire grew and more values were put at risk, the incident management level grew quickly from Type IV to Type III at the end of Monday’s operations. Due to the complexity of the fire, a Type II team has been ordered, along with a multitude of other resources.

In addition to cabins and homes near the fire, other resources at risk include power lines and water supply infrastructure owned by the City of Cheyenne.

An evacuation center for those in need of shelter has been established by the County at the Harmony School on Wyoming Highway 230. Displaced animals can be sheltered at the County Fairgrounds in Laramie.

The weather forecast is calling for hot, dry conditions over the next few days with temperatures in the upper 70s and light west winds. There is the slight possibility for afternoon thunderstorms.